Bayer Schering Pharma (BSP) Asia Pacific witnessed 13 per cent sale growth, with sale reaching 1.04 billion euro in 2009, which makes Asia Pacific the fastest growing region for the German pharmaceutical company.
Significant investments will go into enhancing its expertise in research and development (R&D), talent development and improving patients' access to novel therapies.
In Thailand, Bayer Schering Pharma is one of the top ten leaders in pharmaceutical industry. It is also committed to addressing the unmet medical needs of Thai people with innovative therapies with its business areas in four core areas - General Medicines, Women's Healthcare, Specialty Medicine and Diagnostic Imaging
The company is planning to introduce more than 10 novel therapies to Thailand over the next few years to address local unmet medical needs. -- such as the innovative 24/4 regimen oral contraceptive and an oral targeted therapy for liver cancer that is expected to bring new hope to patients in Thailand.
"BSP actively works to increasing Thailand's presence in the company's global clinical trial network with the aim to increase Thai patients' accessibility to innovative drugs in the future as well as to engage actively in knowledge sharing with local doctors," Cecily Gu, general manager of Bayer Schering Pharma Business Group of Bayer Thai, said.
In 2009, Thai hospitals participated in 11 international clinical trials, with some 260 patients. This is a marked increase from 2008, when 3 international clinical trials were conducted in the country.
Alok Kanti, regional head, Bayer Schering Pharma Asia Pacific, said the sharp growth showed that focused strategy in countries like China and Korea is materialising, and BSP is now optimistic that it can also realise it in other emerging markets like Vietnam and India.
Moving forward, Bayer Schering Pharma expects to be one of the top ten key pharma players with top line growth above the market in Asia Pacific. In the past three years, workforce in Korea was increased by over 20 per cent, in India by 35 per cent and in Vietnam by 100 per cent.
Bayer Schering Pharma is investigating novel approaches for conditions where current treatment options are limited - especially for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and cancer which are highly prevalent in Asia. CVD is one of the leading causes of death and disability with approximately half of the world's cases occurring in Asia Pacific. Of the seven million deaths worldwide due to cancer in 2002, half of them occurred in Asia.
Bayer Schering Pharma Asia Pacific is actively investing in R&D through increasing partnerships with regional and local institutions and academia, as well as increasing the number of clinical trials in the region.
By setting up a Global Development hub and R&D Centre in the heart of Asia last year in Beijing, Bayer Schering Pharma has established a core inhouse competency in supervising pre-clinical and clinical development in the region. It taps onto an integrated network of science researchers and helps to involve more Asian patients in early phases of clinical trials. Furthermore, it aims to accelerate drug approval timelines in Asia Pacific and enables the company as an innovation driver to stay close to the needs of local regulatory authorities and medical societies.
